Calibration error conditions

ABSTRACT

Examples described herein involve identifying one or more error conditions during calibration of one or more playback devices in a playback environment. A microphone of a network device may detect and sample an audio signal while the one or more playback devices in the playback environment plays a calibration tone. A processor of the network device may then receive, from the microphone, a stream of audio data. The audio data may include an audio signal component and a background noise component. As a subset of the audio data is received, the processor may identify based on the audio data, the one or more error conditions. The processor may then cause a graphical display to display a graphical representation associated with the identified error condition.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is acontinuation of, U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No.15/718,556, filed on Sep. 28, 2017, entitled “Calibration ErrorConditions,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/718,556 claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S.non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/344,069, filed on Nov. 4,2016, entitled “Calibration Error Conditions,” and issued as U.S. Pat.No. 9,781,533 on Oct. 3, 2017, which is also incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/344,069 claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S.non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/811,587, filed on Jul.28, 2015, entitled “Calibration Error Conditions,” issued as U.S. Pat.No. 9,538,305 on Jan. 3, 2017, which is also incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from a plethora of sources via one or morenetworked playback devices. Through a software control applicationinstalled on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he orshe wants in any room that has a networked playback device.Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can bestreamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be groupedtogether for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in allrooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an example method for identifying errorconditions;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative playback device calibration user interface;and

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative playback device calibration error conditionuser interface.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

In examples discussed herein, one or more error conditions duringcalibration of one or more playback devices may be identified based onaudio detected by a microphone of a network device being used for thecalibration. Such error conditions may include conditions that affectthe calibration of the one or more playback devices. In some cases, suchconditions may interfere with the calibration of the one or moreplayback devices.

After positioning the one or more playback devices at respectivepositions within a playback environment, calibration of the one or moreplayback device may be performed to provide a particular audioexperience, regardless of the position(s) of the one or more playbackdevices within the playback environment. The particular audio experiencemay be an audio experience as intended by artists of audio content whencreating the audio content.

In one example, upon positioning the one or more playback devices in aplayback environment, a user may use a network device to calibrate theone or more playback devices for the playback environment. Thecalibration process may involve the one or more playback devices playinga calibration tone, and the user moving the network device within theplayback environment while a microphone of the network device detects anaudio signal. The detected audio signal may include an audio componentassociated with the calibration tone played by the one or more playbackdevice. Calibration of the one or more playback devices may then becompleted by determining a signal processing algorithm based on thedetected audio signal. The signal processing algorithm may be determinedsuch that the particular audio experience is provided by the one or moreplayback devices when applying the signal processing algorithm duringaudio playback, as the signal processing algorithm may offsetcharacteristics of the playback environment.

Effectiveness of the calibration may depend on a number of factors. Suchfactors may include a background noise level, a quality of the audiosignal detected by the microphone, distances between the one or moreplayback devices and the network device, and a range of movement of thenetwork device, among other possibilities. In some cases, one or moreconditions that might negatively affect the effectiveness of thecalibration of the one or more playback devices are identified duringthe calibration process. Such a condition may be referred to herein asan error condition. In some examples, as an audio stream is received viaa microphone, the network device may identify error conditions based onthe stream of audio data received.

Upon identifying an error condition, the calibration process may besuspended, and the network device may display on a graphical display ofthe network device, a message indicating that the calibration processhas been suspended. The message may additionally or alternativelyindicate the identified error condition that triggered the suspension ofthe calibration process. The message may further additionally oralternatively indicate suggestions for remedying the identified errorcondition. The network device may further display on the graphicaldisplay selectable options for restarting the calibration process orcancelling the calibration process. Other examples are also possible.

As indicated above, the present discussions involve identifying one ormore error conditions during calibration of one or more playback devicesbased on audio detected by a microphone of a network device being usedfor the calibration. In one aspect, a network device is provided. Thenetwork device includes a microphone configured for receiving a streamof audio data that includes (i) an audio signal component and (ii) abackground noise component, a processor configured for, as a subset ofthe stream is received, identifying an error condition based on at leastthe subset of audio data, and a graphical display configured fordisplaying a graphical representation that indicates the identifiederror condition.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involves receiving,by a microphone of a network device, a stream of audio data thatincludes (i) an audio signal component and (ii) a background noisecomponent, as a subset of the stream is received, identifying, by thenetwork device based on at least the subset of audio data, an errorcondition, and displaying, on a graphical display of the network device,a graphical representation that indicates the identified errorcondition.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to perform functions. Thefunctions include receiving, via a microphone, a stream of audio datathat includes (i) an audio signal component and (ii) a background noisecomponent, as a subset of the stream is received, identifying based onat least the subset of audio data, an error condition, and displaying,on a graphical display, a graphical representation that indicates theidentified error condition.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users” and/or other entities, it should beunderstood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claimsshould not be interpreted to require action by any such example actorunless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves. Itwill be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,microphone(s) 220, and a network interface 214 including wirelessinterface(s) 216 and wired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playbackdevice 200 may not include the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speakerinterface for connecting the playback device 200 to external speakers.In another case, the playback device 200 may include neither thespeaker(s) 212 nor the audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audiointerface for connecting the playback device 200 to an external audioamplifier or audio-visual receiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or more ofdigital-to-analog converters (DAC), analog-to-digital converters (ADC),audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, and adigital signal processor (DSP), among others. In one embodiment, one ormore of the audio processing components 208 may be a subcomponent of theprocessor 202. In one example, audio content may be processed and/orintentionally altered by the audio processing components 208 to produceaudio signals. The produced audio signals may then be provided to theaudio amplifier(s) 210 for amplification and playback through speaker(s)212. Particularly, the audio amplifier(s) 210 may include devicesconfigured to amplify audio signals to a level for driving one or moreof the speakers 212. The speaker(s) 212 may include an individualtransducer (e.g., a “driver”) or a complete speaker system involving anenclosure with one or more drivers. A particular driver of thespeaker(s) 212 may include, for example, a subwoofer (e.g., for lowfrequencies), a mid-range driver (e.g., for middle frequencies), and/ora tweeter (e.g., for high frequencies). In some cases, each transducerin the one or more speakers 212 may be driven by an individualcorresponding audio amplifier of the audio amplifier(s) 210. In additionto producing analog signals for playback by the playback device 200, theaudio processing components 208 may be configured to process audiocontent to be sent to one or more other playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The microphone(s) 220 may include an audio sensor configured to convertdetected sounds into electrical signals. The electrical signal may beprocessed by the audio processing components 208 and/or the processor202. The microphone(s) 220 may be positioned in one or more orientationsat one or more locations on the playback device 200. The microphone(s)220 may be configured to detect sound within one or more frequencyranges. In one case, one or more of the microphone(s) 220 may beconfigured to detect sound within a frequency range of audio that theplayback device 200 is capable or rendering. In another case, one ormore of the microphone(s) 220 may be configured to detect sound within afrequency range audible to humans. Other examples are also possible.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, a userinterface 308, and microphone(s) 310. In one example, the control device300 may be a dedicated controller for the media playback system 100. Inanother example, the control device 300 may be a network device on whichmedia playback system controller application software may be installed,such as for example, an iPhone™ iPad™ or any other smart phone, tabletor network device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

The microphone(s) 310 may include an audio sensor configured to convertdetected sounds into electrical signals. The electrical signal may beprocessed by the processor 302. In one case, if the control device 300is a device that may also be used as a means for voice communication orvoice recording, one or more of the microphone(s) 310 may be amicrophone for facilitating those functions. For instance, the one ormore of the microphone(s) 310 may be configured to detect sound within afrequency range that a human is capable of producing and/or a frequencyrange audible to humans. Other examples are also possible.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, control devices,playback zone configurations, and media item sources provide only someexamples of operating environments within which functions and methodsdescribed below may be implemented. Other operating environments andconfigurations of media playback systems, playback devices, and networkdevices not explicitly described herein may also be applicable andsuitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Example Playback Device Calibration

As previously discussed, one or more playback devices, such as one ormore of the playback devices 102-124 of FIG. 1, may be configured toprovide a particular audio experience, and may be calibrated to providethat audio experience regardless of position(s) of the one or moreplayback devices within the playback environment.

A calibration interface may be provided on a network device to guide auser through the calibration process. Alternatively, calibration may beperformed automatically between the network device and the playbackdevice(s), and may be conducted with or without interaction by a user ofthe network device. The network device may be a device the user can useto control the one or more playback devices. For instance, the networkdevice may be similar to the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1, and300 of FIG. 3. The calibration interface may be a component of acontroller interface, such as the controller interface 400 of FIG. 4that is provided on the network device for controlling the one or moreplayback devices.

Once the one or more playback devices have been positioned within theplayback environment, the calibration interface may cause the one ormore playback devices to play a calibration tone. The network device maybe positioned so as to receive the audio data related to the playback ofthe calibration tone by the one or more playback devices. In oneexample, the interface may prompt the user to move the network devicewithin the playback environment while the calibration tone is playing.For example, in one more specific case, the interface may instruct theuser to traverse areas within the playback environment where enjoymentof audio playback by the one or more playback devices may typicallyoccurs. In another example, the interface may instruct the user to movethe network device as close as possible to opposing border regions ofthe playback environment, such as walls in a room. In one case, thecalibration interface may provide a video demonstrating how a user maytraverse a playback environment. The video may be shown to the user viathe interface before the calibration tone is played or while thecalibration tone is playing.

In one example, the calibration tone may be played for a predeterminedduration of time, and the user may be allocated the predeterminedduration of time to traverse the areas in the playback environment. Inanother example, the amount of time that the calibration tone is playedback may be modified based on information sensed by the network deviceregarding the motion or path of the network device. For instance, if thenetwork device determines that that the network device has started tobacktrack across a previously traversed path, the network device maydetermine that no additional measurement of the calibration tone isnecessary and may cause playback of the calibration tone by the one ormore playback devices to be terminated.

In a further example, the amount of time that the calibration tone isplayed back may be modified based on the detected audio signal. Forinstance, if the network device determines that additional samples ofthe audio signal detected in the playback environment will not improvethe determination of the characterization of the playback environment,the network device may determine that no additional measurement ofcalibration tone is necessary and may cause playback of the calibrationtone by the one or more playback devices to be terminated. Otherexamples are also possible.

The predetermined duration of time may vary depending on a type and/orsize of the playback environment. For instance, prior to causing the oneor more playback device to play the calibration tone, the calibrationinterface may prompt the user to indicate a type and/or a size of theplayback environment. Based on the user's input, the interface mayidentify an appropriate predetermined duration of time to play thecalibration tone based on the indicated type and/or size of the playbackenvironment. In one case, the provided demonstration video may also varybased on the indicated type and/or size of the playback environment. Inanother example, the user may be instructed to move between opposingborder areas of the playback environment. The approximate size of theplayback environment may be determined based on a detected motion and/orpath of the network device, so that the playback time of the calibrationtone may be adjusted (extended or shortened) based on the detectedmotion and/or detected path of motion of the user. For example, if it isdetected that the user is still moving the network device, thecalibration tone playback may be extended. In another example, if it isdetected that the user is moving the device in a direction thatindicates that the playback environment is larger than previouslyassumed and that the user needs more time to properly move the device tocover the entire or a substantial portion of the playback environment,the playback time may be extended.

While the one or more playback devices is playing the calibration tone,a microphone of the network device, such as microphone 310 of thecontrol device 300, may detect an audio signal. A processor of thenetwork device, such as the processor 302 of the control device 300, mayreceive a stream of audio data from the microphone as the audio signalis detected. The processor may then process the received audio data todetermine audio characteristics of the playback environment. Forinstance, a linear frequency response associated with the playbackenvironment may be determined based on the audio data.

A signal processing algorithm may then be determined based on the audiocharacteristics. For instance, equalization parameters may be determinedsuch that when the equalization parameters are applied by the one ormore playback device when playing audio content, a particular audioexperience may be created.

IV. Example Methods for Identifying Playback Device-Calibration ErrorConditions

As indicated previously, one or more error conditions may negativelyaffect the effectiveness of the calibration of the one or more playbackdevices. In one example, the one or more error conditions may beidentified during playback of the calibration tone by the one or moreplayback device and detecting of the audio signal by the microphone ofthe network device. In one case, calibration of the one or more playbackdevices may be suspended and/or terminated as soon as an error conditionis identified, rather than after completing playback of the calibrationtone and detecting of the audio signal for the entire predeterminedduration of time.

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of example method 500 for identifyingplayback device-calibration error conditions. Method 500 presentsexample methods that can be implemented within an operating environmentinvolving, for example, the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one ormore of the playback device 200 of FIG. 2, and one or more of thecontrol device 300. In one example, the method 500 may be performed inwhole or in part by a computing device in communication with a mediaplayback system. For instance, the method 500 may be performed by one ormore of the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1. In such cases, one ormore of the control devices 126 and 128 may have installed thereon asoftware application that includes instructions executable by aprocessor of a respective control device to cause the respective controldevice to perform the functions of method 500.

Method 500 may include one or more operations, functions, or actions asillustrated by one or more of blocks 502-506. Although the respectiveblocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also beperformed in parallel, and/or in a different order than those describedherein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks,divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desiredimplementation. In addition, for the method 500 and other processes andmethods disclosed herein, the flowcharts show functionality andoperation of only a few possible implementations of present embodiments.In this regard, each block may represent a module, a segment, or aportion of program code, which includes one or more instructionsexecutable by a processor for implementing specific logical functions orsteps in the process. The program code may be stored on any type ofcomputer readable medium, for example, such as a storage deviceincluding a disk or hard drive.

The computer readable medium may include non-transitory computerreadable medium, for example, such as computer-readable media thatstores data for short periods of time like register memory, processorcache and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium mayalso include non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent longterm storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 500 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block may represent circuitry that is wired to perform thespecific logical functions in the process.

As shown in FIG. 5, the method 500 involves at block 502, receiving astream of audio data from a microphone; at block 504, as a subset of theaudio data is received, identifying based on at least the subset ofaudio data, an error condition; and at block 506, providing for displayon a graphical display, a graphical representation associated with theidentified error condition.

a. Receive a Stream of Audio Data from a Microphone

As indicated above, block 502 involves receiving a stream of audio datafrom a microphone. In one example, the microphone may be a part of anetwork device providing a calibration interface to guide a user throughthe process of calibrating one or more playback devices. In anotherexample, the microphone may be a microphone external to the networkdevice and communicatively coupled to the network device. In discussionsherein, physical movement of the network device may involve concurrentphysical movement of the microphone.

In one example, the network device, prior to the microphone receivingthe stream of audio data, may send to at least one of the one or moreplayback devices, a message to cause the at least one playback device toplay a calibration tone. In one case, the calibration interface mayprompt the user to indicate when the user is ready to begin movement ofthe network device within the playback environment. For instance, thecalibration interface may provide on a graphical display of the networkdevice, a selectable icon (i.e. a “start calibration” icon) that theuser can select to indicate that the user is ready.

The network device, in response to receiving an input indicating thatthe user is ready to begin movement of the network device within theplayback environment, may accordingly send the message to the at leastone of the one or more playback device. In one case, the at least one ofthe one or more playback device may then coordinate playback of thecalibration tone by each of the one or more playback devices.

As the calibration tone is being played by the one or more playbackdevices, the microphone may detect an audio signal including at least aportion of the calibration tone being played and any ambient noisepresent in the playback environment. The microphone may then, as theaudio signal is detected, sample the detected audio signal and streamthe resulting audio data to a processor of the network device.

As such, the stream of audio data may be received while a calibrationtone is being played by the one or more playback devices and as themicrophone detects and samples the audio signal. The audio data mayaccordingly include (i) an audio signal component corresponding to theat least a portion of the calibration tone being played, and (ii) abackground noise component corresponding to audio elements other thanthe calibration tone.

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative playback device calibration user interface600. As shown, the user interface 600 includes a graphicalrepresentation 602 indicating that one or more playback devices in a“LIVING ROOM” zone is being calibrated. Referring to FIG. 1, playbackdevices, 104, 106, 108, and 110 may be the one or more playback devicesthat are being calibrated. The user interface 600 further includes agraphical representation 604 that may indicate that detecting of anaudio signal for calibration purposes is taking place. The graphicalrepresentation 604 may also show a status of the audio signal recordingprocess, such as an amount of the predetermined duration of time fordetecting of the calibration tone that has elapsed and/or that isremaining. The graphical representation 604 may also show arepresentation of the audio signal that has been detected thus far. Alsoshown in the user interface 600 is a selectable icon 606 that may beselected to terminate the calibration process. One having ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that the user interface 600 of FIG. 6 is forillustration purposes and that other examples are also possible.

b. As a Subset of the Stream is Received, Identify Based on at Least theSubset of Audio Data, an Error Condition

At block 504, the method 500 involves as a subset of the stream isreceived, identifying based on at least the subset of audio data, anerror condition. In one example, the subset of the audio data may be asingle audio data sample. In another example, the subset of the audiodata may be a plurality of audio data samples. In one case, identifyingthe error condition based on at least the subset of the audio data mayinvolve identifying the error condition based on the subset of the audiodata and one or more preceding subsets of the audio data in the streamof audio data.

In some cases, an error condition may be statistically insignificant.For instance, if a noise impulse occurs during calibration, the audiodata indicating the noise impulse may be automatically discarded as anoutlier during processing of the audio data. In such a case, the networkdevice may determine that calibration of the one or more playbackdevices may continue. In other cases, the error condition may bestatistically significant and audio data indicating the error conditionmay not be discarded as an outlier. In such case, the network devicemay, responsive to identifying the error condition, determine thatcalibration of the one or more playback devices is to be suspended, andaccordingly send to at least one of the one or more playback devices, amessage to cause the at least one playback device to stop playing thecalibration tone.

In one example, a plurality of predetermined error conditions andcorresponding characteristics of the predetermined error conditions maybe defined. In such a case, an identification of the error condition atblock 504 may involve identifying the error condition from the pluralityof predetermined error conditions based on identifying the correspondingcharacteristics. In one case, only a single error condition isidentified based on the at least a subset of the audio data. In anothercase, multiple error conditions may be identified based on the at leasta subset of audio data.

As indicated above, the calibration interface may prompt the user tomove the network device within the playback environment while thecalibration tone is playing. The calibration interface may furtherprompt the user to move the network device up and down within thenetwork device. Movement of the network device while the microphone ofthe network device detects the calibration tone may provide a morecomprehensive acoustic characteristic of the playback environment to becaptured in the stream of audio data. In addition, movement of thenetwork device across areas in the playback environment where enjoymentof audio playback by the one or more playback devices typically occurswhile the microphone of the network device detects the calibration tonemay further provide an acoustic characteristic of the playbackenvironment that is more pertinent to how the playback environment isused during audio playback by the one or more playback devices in theplayback environment.

During the movement of the network device, a level of the audio signaldetected by the microphone of the network device may be expected to havea certain degree of variation and a certain rate of variation. As such,if a determination is made that a level of the audio signal componentrepresented in the subset of audio data is less a minimum threshold, anerror condition of insufficient movement of the network device may beidentified. Alternatively, if a determination is made that a rate ofvariation in a level of the audio signal component represented in thesubset of audio data is above a maximum threshold, an error condition ofoverly-fast movement of the network device may be identified.

In one example, the network device may further include a motion sensor,such as an accelerometer, among other examples. In such a case, theprocessor of the network device may further activate the motion sensorduring calibration of the one or more playback device, and inparticular, while the calibration tone is being played by the one ormore playback device and while the network device is expected to bemoved within the playback environment. In this instance, the processorof the network device may further be configured to receive a stream ofmotion data. The motion data may indicate a range of movement and/or arate of movement of the network device within the playback environment.The range of movement and rate of movement of the network device mayinvolve both lateral movement of the network device within the playbackenvironment and up and down movement of the network device.

As a subset of the motion data is received by the motion sensor, theprocessor of the network device may identify one or more errorconditions based on at least the subset of motion data. As such, theerror conditions of insufficient movement or overly-fast movement mayalternatively or additionally be identified based on at least a subsetof the motion data from the motion sensor. More specifically, whenmovement detected by the motion sensor is below a minimum threshold, anerror message of insufficient movement is generated, and/or when a rateof movement detected by the motion sensor is above a maximum threshold,an error message of overly fast movement is generated.

In one example, a range of movement that is considered insufficientmovement may be determined based on an expected size of the listeningenvironment. In one case, a threshold range of movement of 1.2 metersmay be determined for an average listening environment. In this case, ifa range of movement detected by the motion sensor is less than 1.2meters, the error condition of insufficient movement may be identified.

In another example, the expected range of movement may vary depending onan indicated type of listening environment, and accordingly thethreshold range of movement may vary based on the indicated type oflistening environment. For instance, if a user indicates during thecalibration process that the calibration is to be performed for a livingroom, the threshold range of movement may be 3 meters. The user mayindicate that the calibration is performed for a living room by namingthe playback zone associated with the playback device(s) beingcalibrated as “Living Room.” On the other hand, if a user indicatesduring the calibration process that the calibration is to be performedfor a bathroom, the threshold range of movement may be 1 meter. Otherexamples are also possible.

Other examples for determining and/or identifying the threshold range ofmovement may also be possible. For instance, the network device and/orthe playback devices may play an impulse signal and estimate a size ofthe listening environment based on a detection by the network deviceand/or playback devices of the reflected signal. Other examples are alsopossible.

A playback environment may involve one or more playback zones, andaccordingly may include one or more playback devices associated with theone or more playback zones. Calibration of the one or more playbackdevices may be suitably performed within a particular playback zoneassociated with the one or more playback devices, rather than anotherplayback zone or a playback environment that does not include theparticular playback zone. In other words, referring to FIG. 1, playbackdevices 122 and 124 may be suitably calibrated for the master bedroom,and not the dining room.

In one example, if a determination is made that a level of the audiosignal component represented in the subset of audio data has graduallydecreased below a minimum threshold, an error condition of exceeding athreshold movement distance may be identified. In other words, thenetwork device may have moved too far from the one or more playbackdevices, and outside of a suitable playback environment for the one ormore playback devices.

Prior to playback of the calibration tone by the one or more playbackdevices being calibrated and detection of the audio signal by themicrophone, the calibration interface may first determine whether abackground noise level within the playback environment is suitable forcalibration of the one or more playback devices in the playbackenvironment. In one case, the calibration interface may provide agraphical representation of a noise-meter to indicate a noise level inthe playback environment. If the noise level is above a suitable level,the calibration interface may prompt the user to attempt to reduce thenoise level in the playback environment prior to calibrating the one ormore playback devices. If the noise level of the playback environment iswithin suitable levels, the selectable icon that the user can select toindicate that the user is ready to move the network device within theplayback environment may be displayed on the calibration interface. Aselection of the selectable icon may then cause the playback of thecalibration tone by the one or more playback devices and detection ofthe audio signal by the microphone of the network device to begin.

During playback of the calibration tone by the one or more playbackdevices and detection of the audio signal by the microphone of thenetwork device, background noise levels in the playback environment maychange. In one example, if a determination is made that a level of thebackground noise component represented in the subset of audio data isabove a maximum threshold level, an error condition of unsuitablebackground noise may be identified. In one instance, such an errorcondition may occur if a burst of sound is present in the playbackenvironment during detection of the audio signal by the microphone.

In another example, if a determination is made that a ratio between theaudio signal component and the background noise component (signal tonoise ratio, or “SNR”) represented in the subset of audio data is belowa minimum threshold, an error condition of overly high background noisemay be identified. In one instance, such an error condition may occur ifthe background noise in the playback environment has gradually increasedbeyond a suitable level.

Different network devices may have different microphone configurations.In one example, if the microphone of the network device is on the bottomof the network device (relative to a standard operating orientation ofthe network device), the calibration interface may, prior to theplayback of the calibration tone by the one or more playback device anddetection of the audio signal by the microphone, prompt the user to flipthe network device upside-down such that the microphone is on the top ofthe network device. Such an orientation of the network device, andconsequently the microphone may cause the microphone of the networkdevice to be suitably oriented for optimal detection of the audio signalthat includes at least a portion of the calibration tone played by theone or more playback devices being calibrated.

In one example, if a determination is made that a level of the audiosignal component represented in the subset of audio data hassubstantially (or drastically) decreased below a minimum threshold, anerror condition of having an improperly orientated network device (andmicrophone) may be identified. For instance, a user may haveinstinctively and/or accidentally flipped the phone back to standardoperating orientation of the network device, in which the microphone maynot be optimally oriented for detecting the audio signal that includesat least a portion of the calibration tone played by the one or moreplayback devices being calibrated. In one case, motion data from themotion sensor may also be used to determine an orientation of thenetwork device. Accordingly, the error conditions of an improperlyoriented network device may alternatively or additionally be identifiedbased on at least a subset of the motion data from the motion sensor.

In addition to an improperly orientated network device (and microphone),a microphone that is even partially obstructed may also negativelyaffect the effectiveness of the calibration of the one or more playbackdevices using the network device. In one case, a protective and/ordecorative case for the network device may obstruct a portion of themicrophone. In another case, lint from clothing or other debris fromregular use of the network device may also obstruct a portion of themicrophone.

In one example, if a determination is made that the audio signalcomponent represented in the subset of audio data is substantiallydifferent from a reference audio signal, an error condition of anobstructed microphone may be identified. In one case, the referenceaudio signal may be representative of the calibration tone. Forinstance, the reference audio signal may be generated by convoluting thecalibration tone audio signal with a frequency response of themicrophone. In one case, a substantial difference between the subset ofthe audio data and the reference audio signal may include asubstantially attenuated audio signal represented in the audio data,relative to the reference audio signal.

The network device used for calibration of the one or more playbackdevices may also be used as a communication device, as such, duringplayback of the calibration tone by the one or more playback devices andwhile the microphone of the network device is detecting the audiosignal, the network device may receive messages over a local areanetwork and/or cellular network and may generate notifications in theform of audio signal and/or vibrations. The audio and/or vibrationalnotifications may also negatively affect the effectiveness of thecalibration of the one or more playback devices. Accordingly, if adetermination is made that the network device generated an audible orphysical notification during playback of the calibration tone anddetection of the audio signal, a corresponding error state may beidentified.

As indicated above, one or more error conditions may be determined basedon combinations of the received audio data and motion data. In oneexample, the network device may be configured to suspend calibration if¼ of the received audio data indicates an SNR that is below an SNRthreshold. In one case, as discussed previously, may be that thebackground noise level is too high.

In another case, however, the motion data corresponding to those ¼ ofthe received audio data may be further based on to identify the errorcondition. For instance, if ⅓ of the motion data corresponding to the ¼of the received audio data indicates movement above a certain threshold,than an error condition of overly fast movement may be determined. Inthis case, the below-threshold SNR may result from increased noise fromthe overly fast movement (wind/draft over the microphone from themovement).

In another instance, if ¾ of the ¼ of the received audio data indicatesan SNR that is below the SNR threshold despite corresponding motion dataindicating an expected, below-threshold rate of movement, an errorcondition of too much background noise may be determined. Further inthis case, if movement of the network device within the playbackenvironment is faster than the threshold rate of movement, but the SNRof the received audio data remains above the SNR threshold, calibrationmay be allowed to continue and no error conditions may be identified. Inother words, in this case, so long as the SNR of the received audiosignal is above the SNR threshold, no error condition is identified.However, if the SNR of some of the received audio data (i.e. ¼, asdiscussed above) is below the SNR threshold, the motion data may berelied upon to determine whether the error condition relates tobackground noise or overly fast movement. Other examples are alsopossible.

Descriptions of the error conditions described above are forillustrative purposes and are not meant to be limiting. One havingordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other examples are alsopossible. For instance, characteristics may be determined for an errorcondition involving movement of the network device such that a piece offurniture or the user is between the one or more playback devices andthe network device, for example, if the audio data falls below apredetermined threshold for a relatively short amount of time during thecalibration procedure. Such an error condition may be identified if thedetermined characteristics are present in the at least a subset of theaudio data.

In addition, while the above examples involve identifying one or moreerror conditions based on a subset of audio data while the subset ofaudio data is received, one having ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that an alternative embodiment in which the one or more errorconditions is determined after receiving of the audio data is complete,based on all the received audio data, is also possible. Other examplesare also possible.

c. Provide for Display on a Graphical Display, a GraphicalRepresentation Associated with the Identified Error Condition

At block 506, the method 500 involves providing for display on agraphical interface, a graphical representation that indicates theidentified error condition. FIG. 7 shows an illustrative playback devicecalibration error condition user interface 700 that may be displayed onthe graphical interface when an error condition has been identified. Asshown, the user interface 700 includes a graphical representation 702indicating that the displayed content on the interface 700 correspondsto the one or more playback devices in the LIVING ROOM zone.

The user interface 700 further includes a graphical representation 710that may include a textual message describing an identified errorcondition and/or suggestions for remedying the error condition. The userinterface 700 further includes selectable icons 706 and 708. Selectableicon 706 may be selected to try the calibration process again, andselectable icon 708 may be selected to terminate the calibrationprocess. As shown, the graphical representation 710 may overlay a grayedor dimmed version of some or all of the graphical representation 604 ofthe user interface 600 of FIG. 6.

In one example, each error condition (i.e. in the plurality ofpredetermined error conditions) may have a corresponding textual messageto be provided in the graphical representation 710. For instance, if theidentified error condition relates to insufficient movement, an exampletextual message may be “To get a good measurement, make sure you'reslowly moving your device up and down and walking all throughout yourroom. Please try again with more movement.” In another instance, if theidentified error condition relates to overly-fast movement, an exampletextual message may be “You were moving a little too fast to get a goodmeasurement for tuning. Please try again, but move slower this time.”

In one instance, if the identified error condition relates to backgroundnoise being above a threshold level, the example textual message may be“We couldn't get a good measurement for tuning. Please reduce backgroundnoise and try again.” In such a case, the graphical representation 710may also include a representation of a noise meter, allowing the user tosee if the user sufficiently reduced the background noise level in theplayback environment below the threshold level, before selecting theicon 706 to try again.

In another instance, if the identified error condition involves anobstructed microphone, the example textual message may be “If yourdevice has a case, please remove it. Please also make sure yourmicrophone is unobstructed and try again.”

The example textual messages discussed herein are for illustrativepurposes only and are not meant to be limiting. Further, one havingordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other examples are alsopossible.

In one example, multiple error conditions may be identified based on theat least a subset of the audio data. In one case, a most severe errorcondition from the multiple error conditions may be identified and atextual message corresponding to the most severe error condition may bedisplayed in the graphical representation 710. In another case, a subsetof the multiple error conditions may be identified (i.e. top 3 mostsevere error conditions), and textual messages corresponding to thesubset of the multiple error conditions may be displayed in thegraphical representation 710. In yet another case, textual messagescorresponding to each of the multiple error conditions may be displayedin the graphical representation 710. Other examples are also possible.

V. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

(Feature 1) A network device including a microphone configured forreceiving audio data that includes (i) an audio signal component and(ii) a background noise component, a processor configured for, as asubset of the stream is received, identifying an error condition basedon at least the subset of the stream, and a graphical display configuredfor displaying a graphical representation that indicates the identifiederror condition.

(Feature 2) The network device of feature 1, wherein identifying theerror condition comprises identifying the error condition from among aplurality of pre-determined error conditions.

(Feature 3) The network device of one of features 1 or 2, whereinidentifying the error condition comprises determining that a variationin a sound pressure level of the audio signal component is less aminimum threshold, and based on determining that the variation in thelevel of the audio signal component is less than the minimum threshold,identifying the error condition as a movement of the computing devicethat is less than a threshold speed.

(Feature 4) The network device of feature 1 or feature 2 in combinationwith claim 3, wherein identifying the error condition comprisesdetermining that a variation in a sound pressure level of the audiosignal component exceeds a maximum threshold, and based on determiningthat the variation in the level of the audio signal component exceedsthe maximum threshold, identifying the error condition as a movement ofthe computing device that exceeds a threshold speed.

(Feature 5) The network device of feature 1 or feature 2 in combinationwith at least one of features 3 to 4, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining that a sound pressure level of the audiosignal component has gradually decreased below a minimum threshold, andbased on determining that the sound pressure level of the audio signalhas gradually decreased below the minimum threshold, identifying theerror condition as having exceeded a threshold movement distance.

(Feature 6) The network device of feature 1 or feature 2 in combinationwith at least one of features 3 to 5, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining that a sound pressure level of the audiosignal component has substantially decreased below a minimum threshold,and based on determining that the sound pressure level of the audiosignal component has substantially decreased below the minimumthreshold, identifying the error condition as an improperly orientatedcomputing device.

(Feature 7) The network device of feature 1 or feature 2 in combinationwith at least one of features 3 to 6, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining that a sound pressure level of thebackground noise component exceeds a maximum threshold level, and baseddetermining that the sound pressure level of the background noisecomponent exceeds the maximum threshold level, identifying the errorcondition as having background noise that exceeds a threshold level forcalibration.

(Feature 8) The network device of feature 1 or feature 2 in combinationwith at least one of features 3 to 7, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining that a ratio between the audio signalcomponent and the background noise component is below a minimumthreshold, and based determining that the ratio between the audio signalcomponent and the background noise component is below the minimumthreshold, identifying the error condition as having a high backgroundnoise to audio signal ratio.

(Feature 9) The network device of feature 1 or feature 2 in combinationwith at least one of features 3 to 8, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining that the audio signal component issubstantially different from a reference audio signal, and identifyingthe error condition as an obstructed microphone.

(Feature 10) The network device of feature 1 or feature 2 in combinationwith at least one of features 3 to 9, wherein the functions furthercomprise prior to the microphone receiving the stream of audio data,sending to at least one playback device, an instruction that causes theat least one playback device to play a calibration tone, wherein theaudio signal component corresponds to the calibration tone, andresponsive to identifying the error condition, sending to the at leastone playback device, an instruction that causes the at least oneplayback device to stop playing the calibration tone.

(Feature 11) The network device of feature 1, further comprising amotion sensor configured for receiving a stream of motion data, whereinidentifying the error condition further comprises, as a subset of themotion data is received by the computing device, identifying the errorcondition further based on at least the subset of motion data.

(Feature 12) A method comprising receiving, by a microphone of a networkdevice, a stream of audio data that includes (i) an audio signalcomponent and (ii) a background noise component, as a subset of thestream is received, identifying, by the network device based on at leastthe subset of audio data, an error condition, and displaying, on agraphical display of the network device, a graphical representation thatindicates the identified error condition.

(Feature 13) The method of feature 12, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining, by the network device, that a variationin a sound pressure level of the audio signal component is less aminimum threshold, and based on determining that the variation in thesound pressure level of the audio signal component is less than theminimum threshold, identifying, by the network device, the errorcondition as a movement of the computing device that is less than athreshold speed.

(Feature 14) The method of feature 12, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining, by the network device, that a variationin a sound pressure level of the audio signal component exceeds amaximum threshold, and based on determining that the variation in thelevel of the audio signal component exceeds the maximum threshold,identifying, by the network device, the error condition as a movement ofthe computing device that exceeds a threshold speed.

(Feature 15) The method of feature 12, wherein identifying the errorcondition comprises determining, by the network device, that a soundpressure level of the audio signal component has gradually decreasedbelow a minimum threshold, and based on determining that the soundpressure level of the audio signal has gradually decreased below theminimum threshold, identifying, by the network device, the errorcondition as having exceeded a threshold movement distance.

(Feature 16) A computer readable medium configured for performing themethod of any of features 1 to 15.

(Feature 17) The computer readable medium of feature 16, whereinidentifying based on at least the subset of audio data, the errorcondition comprises determining that a sound pressure level of thebackground noise component represented in the subset of audio dataexceeds a maximum threshold level, and based determining that the soundpressure level of the background noise component exceeds the maximumthreshold level, identifying the error condition as having backgroundnoise that exceeds a threshold level for calibration.

(Feature 18) The computer readable medium of feature 16, whereinidentifying based on at least the subset of audio data, the errorcondition comprises determining that a ratio between the audio signalcomponent and the background noise component is below a minimumthreshold, and based determining that the ratio between the audio signalcomponent and the background noise component is below the minimumthreshold, identifying the error condition as having a high backgroundnoise to audio signal ratio.

(Feature 19) The computer readable medium of feature 16, whereinidentifying based on at least the subset of audio data, the errorcondition comprises determining that the audio signal component issubstantially different from a reference audio signal, and based ondetermining that the audio signal component is substantially differentfrom the reference audio signal, identifying the error condition as anobstructed microphone.

(Feature 20) The computer readable medium of feature 16, wherein thefunctions further comprise prior to the microphone receiving the streamof audio data, sending to at least one playback device, an instructionthat causes the at least one playback device to play a calibration tone,wherein the audio signal component corresponds to the calibration tone,and responsive to identifying the error condition, sending to the atleast one playback device, an instruction that causes the at least oneplayback device to stop playing the calibration tone.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions executableby one or more processors of a mobile device to perform a methodcomprising: detecting, via one or more microphones of the mobile device,audio signals emitted from one or more playback devices as part of acalibration process of one or more playback devices, wherein thecalibration process comprises moving the mobile device within alistening environment while the one or more playback devices emit theaudio signals; after the one or more playback devices emit the audiosignals as part of the calibration process of the one or more playbackdevices, determining whether variation within the detected audio signalsindicates that sufficient movement of the mobile device occurred duringthe calibration process; when the variation within the detected audiosignals indicates that insufficient movement of the mobile deviceoccurred during the calibration process, displaying, via a controllerinterface on a graphical display of the mobile device, a prompt to movethe mobile device more while the one or more playback devices emit oneor more additional audio signals as part of the calibration process ofthe one or more playback devices; and when the variation within thedetected audio signals indicates that sufficient movement of the mobiledevice occurred during the calibration process, calibrating the one ormore playback devices with a calibration based on the detected audiosignals emitted from the one or more playback devices.
 2. The tangible,non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein determiningwhether variation within the detected audio signals indicates thatsufficient movement of the mobile device occurred during the calibrationprocess comprises: determining whether a level of the detected audiosignals exceeds a threshold degree of variation while the one or moreplayback devices emit the audio signals for a pre-determined duration oftime.
 3. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim1, wherein the method further comprises: when the variation within thedetected audio signals indicates that insufficient movement of themobile device occurred during the calibration process, displaying, viathe controller interface on the graphical display, a graphicalrepresentation of an error condition corresponding to insufficientmovement of the mobile device during the calibration process.
 4. Thetangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 1, whereinthe method further comprises: displaying, via the controller interfaceon the graphical display, one or more prompts to initiate calibration ofat least one playback device within a given environment; and receiving,via the controller interface, input data indicating a command toinitiate the calibration process.
 5. The tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the method furthercomprises: in response to receiving the input data indicating thecommand to initiate the calibration process, sending, to at least oneplayback device of the one or more playback devices, one or moreinstructions that cause the one or more playback devices to emit theaudio signals.
 6. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable mediumof claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: determining whether arate of variation within the detected audio signals indicates thatmovement of the mobile device during the calibration process was withina threshold speed range; when the rate of variation within the detectedaudio signals indicates that the movement of the mobile device duringthe calibration process was outside the threshold speed range,displaying, via the controller interface on the graphical display, aprompt to move the mobile device at a walking speed; and when the rateof variation within the detected audio signals indicates that themovement of the mobile device during the calibration process was withinthe threshold speed range, calibrating the one or more playback deviceswith the calibration based on the detected audio signals emitted fromthe one or more playback devices.
 7. The tangible, non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the method furthercomprises: while detecting the audio signals emitted from the one ormore playback devices, detecting, via one or more sensors, accelerationdata indicating movement of the mobile device; determining whether asubset of the acceleration data indicates sufficient movement of themobile device; when the subset of the acceleration data indicatesinsufficient movement of the mobile device, displaying, via thecontroller interface on the graphical display of the mobile device, theprompt to move the mobile device more while the one or more playbackdevices emit one or more additional audio signals as part of thecalibration process of the one or more playback devices; and when thesubset of the acceleration data indicates sufficient movement of themobile device, calibrating the one or more playback devices with thecalibration based on the detected audio signals emitted from the one ormore playback devices.
 8. A method to be performed by a mobile device,the method comprising: detecting, via one or more microphones of themobile device, audio signals emitted from one or more playback devicesas part of a calibration process of one or more playback devices,wherein the calibration process comprises moving the mobile devicewithin a listening environment while the one or more playback devicesemit the audio signals; after the one or more playback devices emit theaudio signals as part of the calibration process of the one or moreplayback devices, determining whether variation within the detectedaudio signals indicates that sufficient movement of the mobile deviceoccurred during the calibration process; when the variation within thedetected audio signals indicates that insufficient movement of themobile device occurred during the calibration process, displaying, via acontroller interface on a graphical display of the mobile device, aprompt to move the mobile device more while the one or more playbackdevices emit one or more additional audio signals as part of thecalibration process of the one or more playback devices; and when thevariation within the detected audio signals indicates that sufficientmovement of the mobile device occurred during the calibration process,calibrating the one or more playback devices with a calibration based onthe detected audio signals emitted from the one or more playbackdevices.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether variationwithin the detected audio signals indicates that sufficient movement ofthe mobile device occurred during the calibration process comprises:determining whether a level of the detected audio signals exceeds athreshold degree of variation while the one or more playback devicesemit the audio signals for a pre-determined duration of time.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises: when thevariation within the detected audio signals indicates that insufficientmovement of the mobile device occurred during the calibration process,displaying, via the controller interface on the graphical display, agraphical representation of an error condition corresponding toinsufficient movement of the mobile device during the calibrationprocess.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the method furthercomprises: displaying, via the controller interface on the graphicaldisplay, one or more prompts to initiate calibration of at least oneplayback device within a given environment; and receiving, via thecontroller interface, input data indicating a command to initiate thecalibration process.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the methodfurther comprises: in response to receiving the input data indicatingthe command to initiate the calibration process, sending, to at leastone playback device of the one or more playback devices, one or moreinstructions that cause the one or more playback devices to emit theaudio signals.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the method furthercomprises: determining whether a rate of variation within the detectedaudio signals indicates that movement of the mobile device during thecalibration process was within a threshold speed range; when the rate ofvariation within the detected audio signals indicates that the movementof the mobile device during the calibration process was outside thethreshold speed range, displaying, via the controller interface on thegraphical display, a prompt to move the mobile device at a walkingspeed; and when the rate of variation within the detected audio signalsindicates that the movement of the mobile device during the calibrationprocess was within the threshold speed range, calibrating the one ormore playback devices with the calibration based on the detected audiosignals emitted from the one or more playback devices.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the method further comprises: while detecting the audiosignals emitted from the one or more playback devices, detecting, viaone or more sensors, acceleration data indicating movement of the mobiledevice; determining whether a subset of the acceleration data indicatessufficient movement of the mobile device; when the subset of theacceleration data indicates sufficient movement of the mobile device,displaying, via the controller interface on the graphical display of themobile device, the prompt to move the mobile device more while the oneor more playback devices emit one or more additional audio signals aspart of the calibration process of the one or more playback devices; andwhen the subset of the acceleration data indicates insufficient movementof the mobile device, calibrating the one or more playback devices withthe calibration based on the detected audio signals emitted from the oneor more playback devices.
 15. A mobile device comprising: a graphicaldisplay; a network interface; one or more processors; and data storagestoring instructions that when executed by the one or more processorscause the mobile device to perform a method comprising: detecting, viaone or more microphones of the mobile device, audio signals emitted fromone or more playback devices as part of a calibration process of one ormore playback devices, wherein the calibration process comprises movingthe mobile device within a listening environment while the one or moreplayback devices emit the audio signals; after the one or more playbackdevices emit the audio signals as part of the calibration process of theone or more playback devices, determining whether variation within thedetected audio signals indicates that sufficient movement of the mobiledevice occurred during the calibration process; when the variationwithin the detected audio signals indicates that insufficient movementof the mobile device occurred during the calibration process,displaying, via a controller interface on the graphical display, aprompt to move the mobile device more while the one or more playbackdevices emit one or more additional audio signals as part of thecalibration process of the one or more playback devices; and when thevariation within the detected audio signals indicates that sufficientmovement of the mobile device occurred during the calibration process,calibrating, via the network interface, the one or more playback deviceswith a calibration based on the detected audio signals emitted from theone or more playback devices.
 16. The mobile device of claim 15, whereindetermining whether variation within the detected audio signalsindicates that sufficient movement of the mobile device occurred duringthe calibration process comprises: determining whether a level of thedetected audio signals exceeds a threshold degree of variation while theone or more playback devices emit the audio signals for a pre-determinedduration of time.
 17. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the methodfurther comprises: when the variation within the detected audio signalsindicates that insufficient movement of the mobile device occurredduring the calibration process, displaying, via the controller interfaceon the graphical display, a graphical representation of an errorcondition corresponding to insufficient movement of the mobile deviceduring the calibration process.
 18. The mobile device of claim 15,wherein the method further comprises: displaying, via the controllerinterface on the graphical display, one or more prompts to initiatecalibration of at least one playback device within a given environment;and receiving, via the controller interface, input data indicating acommand to initiate the calibration process.
 19. The mobile device ofclaim 18, wherein the method further comprises: in response to receivingthe input data indicating the command to initiate the calibrationprocess, sending, to at least one playback device of the one or moreplayback devices, one or more instructions that cause the one or moreplayback devices to emit the audio signals.
 20. The mobile device ofclaim 15, wherein the method further comprises: determining whether arate of variation within the detected audio signals indicates thatmovement of the mobile device during the calibration process was withina threshold speed range; when the rate of variation within the detectedaudio signals indicates that the movement of the mobile device duringthe calibration process was outside the threshold speed range,displaying, via the controller interface on the graphical display, aprompt to move the mobile device at a walking speed; and when the rateof variation within the detected audio signals indicates that themovement of the mobile device during the calibration process was withinthe threshold speed range, calibrating the one or more playback deviceswith the calibration based on the detected audio signals emitted fromthe one or more playback devices.